The Winter Festival
by Smurf2005
Summary: This is set in Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness. It is the day of the Winter Festival, and Julia has some chocolate cookies for someone special. Will she find the courage to give them to him? ElliotxJulia


A/N: Hello everybody! I broke down and wrote a Valentine's Day story, even though I hate the day. This is my first _Harvest Moon_ fan fiction. This is based off of _Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness._ Since I am a girl, I played as Chelsea, though I named her Yuuki. There is a mention on Chelsea in this story, but this is based on the Julia and Elliot romance. I don't know why, but I wanted to write a story about the two. They are two different people, but they are cute together. I prefer Vaughn, I mean, how can you resist his emo-ness? I know I couldn't. He's so cute when he blushes and smiles, too. He he. Anyways, this takes place in winter. Winter 14 to be exact, since that is the Valentine's Day in the game. Just in case you are not familiar with the Japanese Culture, Valentine's Day in Japan is where girls give the boys chocolate. They give it to co-workers, friends, family members and people they like. Then, on March 14th, there is a day called White Day. That is the day when the boys return the favor. So, in the game, that is the Spring Festival, held on Spring 14. I do have a sequel planned, but it will be about Vaughn and Chelsea. Well, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own _Harvest Moon._ Natsume and whoever else owns it. I just own a few games and my imagination.

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><p><span>The Winter Festival<span>

It was the Winter Festival and Julia was pacing the store her and her mother owned. She had some chocolate that she wanted to give to a certain guy, but she wasn't sure he would accept. As she paced, Vaughn came in with the shipment of animals.

"I brought the animals and I stored them safely in the barn," he said.

Mirabelle smiled at Vaughn as she looked up from the counter.

"Thank you so much, Vaughn! Would you mind moving some of those crates?" she asked.

Vaughn was silent as he nodded and moved over to the corner where the crates were. Julia was nervous as she moved toward Vaughn.

"Um, Vaughn?" Julia said.

Vaughn paused as he looked behind him at Julia. He gave her one of his cold stares. He sighed as he went back to moving the crates.

"What do you want? Can't you see I am busy?"

"I have some chocolate for you. I was wondering if you would accept it since it is the Winter Festival and all," she said, smiling.

Vaughn stopped and looked over at Julia. She could tell that there was an internal struggle going on.

"Sure, I'll accept it," he said.

Julia skipped over to Vaughn and handed him the bar of chocolate she had bought for him the day before. As he put the chocolate in his pocket to eat later, he noticed the plate of chocolate cookies in the kitchen. Julia followed his gaze and her face turned red.

"Those are the cookies I made for Elliot," Julia whispered, answering Vaughn's silent question.

At that moment, Chelsea came into the store. Her face was slightly pink, a combination of the cold and the excitement of the day. Chelsea walked up to the counter and ordered some food for her dog and her other animals. Julia watched as her mother made up Chelsea's order.

"Where would you like it sent?" Mirabelle asked.

"Please send it to my feed dispensers," Chelsea said.

"I'll have it sent over right away," Mirabelle said, smiling.

As Julia watched, she saw Chelsea shyly walk over to Vaughn, who was getting ready to take her order to her ranch.

"Vaughn, would you please accept this plate of chocolate cookies?" she asked.

It got really quiet in the store as all eyes focused on the couple. Even some of the other customers were watching. On Sunshine Islands, you didn't give chocolate cookies to someone unless you really liked them. Since the Islands were so small, everybody knew each other and every little piece of gossip. Julia had known Chelsea for two years now, and there wasn't a lot of gossip about her. She was a quiet girl who spent a lot of time on her ranch, caring for her animals and tending her crops. Without Chelsea, this town would have been in trouble. But, there was one piece of gossip that seemed to be more fact than anything. And that was her crush on Vaughn. A lot of girls have fallen for Vaughn, and it was probably because of his bad boy exterior and his violet eyes. Even Julia had a crush on him before her mother and her moved to the Islands.

But, as she watched Vaughn accept the cookies, she saw he was blushing and there was a small smile on his face. That was something you didn't see every day. Julia had never seen Vaughn smile at another person. She had seen him smile at the animals, but that was the extent of his smiles. The exchange between Vaughn and Chelsea seemed so innocent and sweet. Julia noticed that Vaughn seemed to be more gentle around Chelsea.

As Chelsea left with a wave (no doubt to deliver chocolate to the other men), and Vaughn left to deliver Chelsea's order, Julia stood at the table and looked down at her plate of cookies that she made for Elliot. Should she give the cookies to him? Would it seem too much to give him the cookies? Should she just give him a bar of chocolate like she did with Vaughn. She let out a frustrated groan as she sat in a chair and placed her head in her hands.

"Julia, why don't you give them cookies like you gave Vaughn his chocolate bar?" Mirabelle asked from the counter.

Julia looked up at her mom in disbelief. Her face turned a delicate shade of red as she looked down at the table.

"I can't do that. Giving Elliot the cookies is going to be different from how I gave Vaughn his chocolate. The chocolate I gave Vaughn was friendship chocolate. My feelings went into making these cookies for Elliot," Julia answered.

Mirabelle looked up at Julia and smiled.

"You sound just like me. I said almost the exact same thing to your grandmother. We had a boy who worked in our store. He was a couple years older, and I liked him. So, when the Winter Festival came around, I had baked him cookies. I had gone around earlier that day, giving chocolate to my friends. But, when it came time to give the boy I liked his cookies, I couldn't do it. When my mom asked me why I hadn't given it to him, I told her I was scared. Then, she asked me if I was scared to give my friends their chocolates. I shook my head and she said while smiling, 'Just pretend that he is a friend of yours, too. Just because you are giving him cookies doesn't mean you need to be romantic with the way you give them to him.' That opened my eyes. So, before he left to go home, I gave him the cookies and he accepted."

"What happened after that," Julia asked.

"We got married a few years later," Mirabelle said, smiling. "He was your father."

Julia sat in her chair for a few minutes, pondering the story about her mother and father. Then, she stood up and placed the plate carefully in her bag. She walked out of the shop with a quiet "I'll be back" and walked the short distance to the Shippers house. Elliot and his family lived right next door, and he usually hung around outside getting things ready to ship. She stopped when she saw him next to the shipping bin. Julia looked around and didn't see anybody, so she closed the distance between her and Elliot.

"Hey, Elliot," Julia said, her face slightly pink.

He looked up and smiled, his face slightly pink as well, but for a completely different reason.

"Hi, Julia! What's up?" he asked.

"I wanted to ask you a question," Julia said.

"Okay, shoot," he said, straightening up.

Just as Julia opened her mouth, a random girl came up to Elliot, holding a plate of cookies. They weren't chocolate like Julia's were, but even regular cookies had almost the exact same feelings tacked on to them. They exchanged a few sentences and the girl walked away, happy that Elliot accepted her cookies. Julia was stunned. From what she had heard of the conversation, the girl was visiting the Island with her grandmother, and she fell in love with Elliot at first sight. So, the girl had borrowed the kitchen at the Inn and made him the cookies. As Elliot stood there, holding the plate of cookies, he looked over at Julia, his face a bit more red than before.

"Sorry about that," Elliot said, clearing his throat. "What were you going to say?"

Julia shook her head.

"Oh, never mind. It wasn't important," she said, gripping her bag tighter.

"Oh, okay. I guess I will see you around," Elliot said, heading into the house.

Julia stood out in the cold for a few more minutes. Her heart felt like it was about to break. Julia decided that she was going to go to the mountain top. Maybe she will throw the cookies off the top of the mountain.

As she walked toward the bridge that lead to the forest and the Harvest Goddess Lake, it started to snow. With each step she took, the snow deepened a little. She started to climb the mountain, and half-way up, she saw Chelsea. Chelsea was leaving the mine, and heaving her rucksack onto her back. She was smiling slightly and when she saw Julia, her smile got wider. She waved at Julia, and proceeded to run down the mountain.

Julia continued her cold trek up the mountain. When she finally reached the top, she walked over to the edge and looked out over the rest island and out at the sea. This was her favorite place. There was a cold breeze, and Julia closed her eyes, enjoying its caress. When she opened her eyes, she reached into her bag and pulled out her cookies. She was about to throw them off the cliff when she heard a voice behind her.

"There you are, Julia!" the voice said.

Julia quickly stuffed the cookies back in her bag as she turned to face the newcomer. It was Elliot. He seemed a little out of breath, and his face was red.

"What are you doing up here?" Julia asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, you seemed a little down earlier. And Natalie said that you looked like you were about to cry when you left," Elliot said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," Julia answered. "I'm just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Thinking about today," Julia said. "Oh! Today, Chelsea came in and gave Vaughn chocolate cookies! And he accepted! I was so surprised! He was even blushing and smiling. It was a rare sight!"

"Who did you give chocolate to?" Elliot asked suddenly.

"I gave Vaughn a chocolate bar. But, that's it. I did make chocolate cookies for someone, but I don't know if he will accept them," Julia said, her cheeks becoming more pink.

"Have you tried giving the guy the cookies?" he asked.

"Yes, but I got interrupted and I couldn't give them to him. Besides, the cookies he got looked better than mine."

Elliot was quiet and didn't say anything. When he did speak, it was just above a whisper.

"I was kind of hoping to get some chocolate from you. We have been next door neighbors and friends for almost three years now. I got chocolate from my mom, Natalie and Chelsea, but I haven't gotten any from you. Why?"

Julia looked at the ground and gripped her bag tight. She reached in and pulled out the plate of cookies.

"I wanted to give these to you earlier, but we were interrupted. After you got those cookies from that other girl, I didn't know if you would accept mine. They are cookies and not a chocolate bar. My feelings for you are in these cookies. Will you accept them?"

Elliot was quiet for a moment as her stared at the plate. Julia's heart was beating so fast, she was afraid it was going to pop out of her chest. Then his face split into a wide grin and he took the plate.

"Of course I will accept your cookies!" Elliot said, his face beet red.

Julia giggled nervously and looked away from him.

"You'll tell me how they taste, won't you?" Julia asked, her face matching Elliot's.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, watching the sun set. Elliot reached down and picked up a cookie. He took a bite and looked over at Julia.

"These are really good!" he said.

"I'm glad you like them," Julia whispered.

The couple stood on the mountain top, watching the sun set and spending the last few hours of the Winter Festival together.

The End

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><p>AN: What did you think about my first _Harvest Moon_ fic. I hope I got Julia and Elliot's personality down. This wasn't a very hard story to write, which was surprising. Normally, I write about three sentences and get writers block and stop, but I finished it in a few hours. Took me about three hours, but that was because I was carrying on a conversation with a friend, getting up for tea and other things. But, I do hope you enjoy this story and look forward to my VaughnxChelsea story, that will take place on the Spring Festival. Anyways, please read and review. I accept constructive criticism, but please, no flames!


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